Investment
Dive into the latest stories, interviews, and discussions relating to investment, funding, and mergers and acquisitions throughout the natural food industry. Explore what the financial future looks like for natural food entrepreneurs in terms of capital availability, deal terms, lending, and the strategic marketplace in order to help shape your planning strategy for the short and medium term.
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Featured Investment Content
Whole Foods Evolves As Natural Merges Into Mass
Amazon is planning to absorb all 100,000 Whole Foods employees, including frontline staff, into its core business structure, per a report this week from Business Insider.
BranchOut Food Gets $2.5M To Expand Production
BranchOut Food received $2.5 million in funding through a common stock sale as it moves to expand its production facility.
Smash Foods Closes Seven-Figure Round To Fuel Further Growth
Smash Foods has closed a seven-figure funding round to expand availability of its superfood spreads and snacks, according to co-founder and chief operating officer Steve Ford. The round was led by Eclair Partners with participation from Label Capital and The Family Fund, alongside a strategic supply chain partner.
Additional Content
Need Some Pierogi? Ask Your Polish Jaju
Boston-based Jaju Pierogi has slowly built a “grassroots” brand and in the process learned the ups-and-downs of getting bigger and carving out a niche in the frozen dumpling category.
Organic Chocolatier Alter Eco Announces Acquisition By Trek One Capital
Alter Eco has shifted hands once again. Today, Texas-based investment firm Trek One Capital announced it has acquired the Fair Trade, regenerative confections and pantry staples producer. The deal closed on December 22, and terms were not disclosed.
DayDayCook Wants to Become the “General Mills for Asian Food”
When Norma Chu founded DayDayCook in 2012, the Hong Kong-based company was simply an online recipe sharing platform. Twelve years later, with Chu still at the helm as CEO, it’s become a publicly traded global CPG portfolio business specializing in Asian food brands.
Deal Dive: Our Home Buys From Utz and Tessemae’s Acquired
M&A activity continues to accelerate. This morning we are bringing you updates on the changing snack landscape as Our Home expands its platform with tried-and-true Utz Brand muscle. Additionally we run down news that distressed salad dressing maker Tessemae’s has found a new home and share details on a growing pasta platform.
Meal-Kit Producer FreshRealm Acquires Marley Spoon Operations
California-based FreshRealm announced this morning it had acquired the U.S. operational assets and supply chain infrastructure of global meal kit provider Marley Spoon for $24 million.
Fresh Start: Blue Apron Turns Eye to Innovation While Helping Build “Super App”
Aiming to put a troubled period behind it, meal kit maker Blue Apron is embracing a leaner business model in 2024 that prioritizes flexibility and accelerates innovation targeted at consumers’ growing interest in convenient, clean label offerings.
FABID’s 2023 Annual Report: Deal Doldrums
For those of you looking for a variety of levels of investment capital, the frustration was real in 2023. Deals were down. That’s the read from the FABID 2023 Annual Report, which hit our screens yesterday.
Where The M&A Deal Winds Are Blowing For 2024
Financial advisory firm Solomon Partners reported its expectations for M&A activity in food and beverage this year with a slow escalation in acquisitions as inflation recedes and the Fed lowers interest rates.
‘I Failed, But I’m Not A Failure’: Lessons From Loss
Half of startups fail within the first five years. How does a founder know when it’s time to move on?
Voyage Foods Nets New $22M Investment
Food technology company Voyage Foods ended 2023 with a nearly $22 million payday that was filed with the SEC on December 29. The new capital comes from previous investors Valor Equity Partners, Horizons Ventures, UBS O’Connor and Level One Fund.